Take a Bow
by CastleWriter16
Summary: A fill for the following prompt: To everything there is a season. Rick, Kate, and their children gather to say goodbye to Martha in her last hours.


**A/N: Based on the following tumblr prompt from CastleFanficPrompts:** **To everything there is a season. Rick, Kate, and their children gather to say goodbye to Martha in her last hours.**

 **Thank you to the always wonderful Nicole for her patience and brilliant editing skills. You pushed me to make this so much better.**

* * *

When his phone rings early Sunday morning, he knows. He's been holding his breath for months now, waiting for time to run out. Even still, he's not prepared.

"Kate," he rasps, waiting until she rolls to face him. "It's time." She skims her fingers along his jawline and digs an elbow into the mattress to prop herself up. He watches as the gravity of his words sink in, the sleep fogging her eyes replaced with understanding and compassion.

"Okay," she says softly. "I'll go get the kids ready. Do you think you can call Alexis?" He traps her hand against his cheek and laces their fingers, drawing strength from Kate as he studies her face. The love he finds when he looks at her is still overwhelming even after so many years of marriage.

"Rick?"

He nods and presses his lips to the inside of her palm. "I'll call."

Kate pushes herself up into a sitting position, her body beginning to harden with what he recognizes is the same armor she employs at crime scenes. She leans in to smudge her lips over his, free hand wrapped around his bicep to keep her upright. He curls his arm at her shoulders and holds her close, waiting until he feels the tension in her muscles ease to pull back and kiss her forehead.

"I don't know how to do this," he admits.

"I know," she gentles, tucking her head into the space between his shoulder and his neck. He closes his eyes and breathes in the smell of her, lets it ground him. Kate kisses his pulse point and untangles their bodies. "Call Alexis," she reminds him as she leaves.

His phone feels foreign in his hands when he picks it up from its resting place on the nightstand. The dial tone that echoes while he waits for Alexis to answer sounds like the flat lining of a heart monitor.

Alexis's voice stops him from exploring that morbid thought any further. "Hey, Dad."

He opens his mouth to respond, but finds no words. "Gram's in bad shape," he offers after too long a pause. "I think this is it." He rattles off the address to the hospital with what feels like finality, his chest tight with it.

"I'll meet you there," she promises. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, pumpkin. I'll see you soon." Heart already heavy with the day to come, he throws his phone onto the bed and scrubs both hands down his face. He might not be able to do this.

A muffled chorus of dishes clanging rings out from the kitchen as Kate presumably scrapes together breakfast and packs up snacks for later. She has a system, a rhythm for these sorts of things, but today there is no musicality in her movements.

Body heavy, he drags himself from the safety of their bed and stares into the closet, eyes bleary. He hardly registers the pad of Kate's feet as she steps up behind him, rising on tiptoe to see over his shoulder. "The blue one," she murmurs, reaching in front of him to pull it from the hanger.

She drapes it over his arm and plucks a creamy sweater from the closet. Her fingertips skate across his forehead, brushing the hair from his eyes, and then she disappears into the bathroom, the sweater forgotten on the end of the bed. He hasn't moved when she emerges a few minutes later, hair pulled into a messy French braid. His knees have locked to the point of aching.

Castle watches in his periphery as Kate tugs the sweater over a purple camisole and slides into ballet flats. She holds her hand out to him, wriggling her fingers. "C'mere, babe."

Her voice propels him into motion and he passes Kate his shirt. He takes two steps forward and is almost toe-to-toe with her as he reaches over her shoulder for his deodorant from the dresser top. After he slicks it on, Kate takes it from his hand and replaces it with his button-down. He slides his arms through and she flattens her palms against his chest, smoothing her thumbs at his clavicle before buttoning his collar closed. Her touch tethers him to reality and he's never been more grateful.

Halfway down, he takes over for her and their hands knock. She steadies his trembling fingers and then steps back from him just in time to catch Hannah as she barrels towards Kate's legs. "Hi, baby," Kate says, the solemnness painted on her face quickly replaced with a smile for their daughter. "Did you eat all your eggs?" she asks, cuddling Hannah close as she stands.

Hannah nods, plants a hand on either side of Kate's mouth, and says very seriously, "I wuv you, Mommy."

"Mommy loves you too, baby. So much." He can tell Kate's fighting tears as she draws Hannah closer, hiding her face in their daughter's honeyed curls before she can see the sadness there. When his wife pulls back, dusting her mouth at Hannah's temple, she is once again a pillar of strength.

Rick tightens his belt and snags a pair of shoes from the line at the bottom of the closet, sinking onto the corner of the bed to pull them on. Kate sways with Hannah a moment longer and then shoves her phone into the back pocket of her jeans with one hand, already headed out of the bedroom.

He switches off the bedside lamps and the light in the bathroom and follows her into the living room, untangling his own phone from the sheets on his way out.

Carter sits cross-legged in the middle of the couch, content to watch cartoons Kate must have put on before coming back to get ready. He tilts his head to the side, little eyebrows furrowed as he regards Castle. He is used to a father full of exuberance and giggles, but Rick cannot bring himself to pretend at happiness the way Kate did for Hannah.

Instead, Castle crouches down in front of his son, arms open, and lets the boy fall into him, wrapping him in a bear hug. Carter is perfectly still, resting his head on his daddy's shoulder. The world feels right this way.

"Rick," Kate says softly from the kitchen, Hannah still wrapped in her arms. He stands back up and forces himself to smile. Ava babbles from her high chair, oblivious to the wrongness of it all.

Kate whispers something in Hannah's ear before lowering her to the ground and unbuckling Ava. Their youngest quiets at her mother's touch, happy to sit on Kate's hip as she stuffs various things into the diaper bag. There is more rhythm to the way she moves now, the awkwardness from earlier replaced with easy routine.

"Hannah, go grab your sparkly shoes from your room, okay? We're gonna leave in a minute." Their daughter scurries upstairs and Castle looks down at Carter's feet, relieved to find he's already wearing his sneakers.

When Hannah reappears a few minutes later, Kate straps Ava into her carrier and hefts the diaper bag and her purse over her shoulder. Castle scoops up Carter and leads Hannah by the hand to the door.

He feels numb by the time they arrive at the hospital twenty minutes later, and he can't blame the chilled November air that swirls around them.

* * *

It hits her once they slip inside Martha's room and she sees Alexis curled up on the bed with her grandmother, her back to them, her whole body shaking. Kate glances at Castle; grief has marred his face already and his eyes are watery as he watches Alexis.

Kate sets Ava at Castle's feet and walks over to the bed, pushing her own heartache aside. "Alexis, honey," she murmurs, rubbing circles on the girl's back. Martha's monitor beep beep beeps in a steady rhythm, but she's either asleep or unconscious; Kate isn't sure.

"Wexis?" Hannah splays her hand at her sister's ankle and peers up at her mother, confused. Alexis sits up with Kate's help and swings her legs over the edge of the bed, swiping under her eyes. She inhales and offers Kate a half-hearted smile as she turns to her little sister.

"Hey, Hanny-bear," she whispers, holding her arms out. Hannah hesitates but decides to allow Alexis to pick her up anyway. Kate circles her arms around both of them. Alexis smells like Martha's perfume.

Chair legs scrape against the tile as Rick drags them to either side of the bed, enough for the three of them and John, Alexis's fiancé, when he comes. Ava doesn't like the sudden break in silence and begins to whimper from her car seat. Kate squeezes Alexis's shoulder and then turns to attend to Ava.

Carter is standing over the carrier making faces at his baby sister and it makes Kate smile. Maybe today would not break them.

She bends over and releases the straps, picks up Ava, and takes Carter's hand. She kicks the diaper bag and the seat further from the door so it's not in anyone's way and then walks them all over to Martha.

She looks so small.

In all the years Kate has known the woman, she has never seen age paint her with such frailty. Her bones push out from under her skin; every vein sticks up. Her arms are mottled with purple and black where IVs once were.

Carter hugs Kate's leg. "Mommy?" Kate sits down next to Alexis and across from Rick. Each of them have taken a hand. Hannah is still curled up with her older sister, a hand fisted in Alexis's shirt.

"Hey, buddy." There's enough room on Kate's lap for Carter to crawl up next to his sister, his body angled so he can look up while Kate talks. "We have to be very quiet today, okay?"

"Daddy sad?"

"Yeah, baby. Daddy's very sad." Carter sticks his tongue out a little, like he's thinking, a question forming in his mind. But then he's scrambling off of Kate's lap and rounding the end of the bed to go sit with his father. He gives Castle a smacking kiss on the cheek and the hollowness in his eyes fades for a moment, replaced instead with light that she's only ever seen come from their children.

Kate bounces Ava in her lap to keep her mostly quiet. The monitors continue to keep time in the silence as they sit waiting for an inevitable end. Kate wonders what is worse: having your mother ripped from you without warning, or having all warning in the world and having to watch and wait and count the heartbeats between breaths hoping that another one comes.

Martha wheezes and her eyes peel open slowly. Alexis makes a breathy sound and Kate reaches over to hold her other hand.

"Hey, Gram," Alexis says tentatively, her voice unsteady.

"Oh, Alexis, darling, don't look so blue," Martha rasps, squeezing her granddaughter's hand. "It's my time. There isn't anything we can do about it."

Alexis shakes her head. "Not yet," she insists. "Please not yet."

"I've had a good run, kiddo. I couldn't ask for anything more."

A sob breaks free from Alexis, and Kate sees her daughter tense from where she sits on Alexis's lap, scared by her sister's grief.

"Richard?"

Castle lifts his head and something passes between their eyes before he speaks. "I'm glad this is the role you chose." Martha's lips stretch into a smile and the tears pooled in Castle's eyes spill over.

"Final curtain call," she whispers. Kate bows her head and kisses the crown of Ava's head, trying to quell her own anguish. "And Katherine, dear." Kate exhales and meets Martha's gaze. "I could never have asked for a more wonderful woman for my son. You keep him in line, okay?"

Kate nods, can't find words, all of her strength drained from her in an instant. Everything is still for a handful of seconds and then Carter climbs up onto the bed and cuddles his grandmother, crying without understanding why. Hannah follows his lead and curls up on Martha's other side. Kate lays Ava on Martha's chest and sits at the end of the bed, hands wrapped at Martha's knee.

For the first time all morning, Martha cries, soft, quiet sobs that wrack her hollow frame. No one says anything, but Hannah kisses her grandmother's cheek.

"I love you, kiddo," Martha says, her voice raw. Hannah pats the older woman's clavicle and leaves her fingers spanned there. Kate wonders if years from now, her children will remember this moment—Martha's love poured out over them in her last moments.

Castle doubles over in his chair, gasping, and Kate realizes he's been holding back all this time, for Alexis, for his mother, for the three little ones nestled in the hospital bed with their great-grandmother. The beep beep beep of the heart monitor slows. Kate holds her breath, her stomach knotting.

And then the monitor screeches.

Weeping, Kate closes Martha's eyes.


End file.
